tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-108189062018-03-06T00:49:07.601-08:00SolaceEveryone has a favorite place to find some peace. Mine is right in the middle of my family.Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-8005295100253954522017-04-21T18:05:00.000-07:002017-04-21T18:05:56.110-07:00my kidsThe most common insult heard in our house these days is "haha, i farted in your general direction"...<br /><br /><br />Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-9160957119927806592015-03-24T06:48:00.001-07:002015-03-24T06:48:36.672-07:00Being big is hardVeronica came storming in through the garage door, let out a giant sigh and declared "I am SO done with little kids! I am just all done." Insert another giant sigh here "Eden just keeps bossing me around. I am all done with little kids".<br /><br />For the record, Mike and I both deserve Oscars for not laughing out loud at this dramatic 5 year old. Instead we head straight into parenting mode "did you tell your friend that you were coming inside or did you just leave her out there alone? did you try to use your words to take turns being the boss, come up with other solutions, etc" Veronica said "well, i just told her nothing and came inside" and so we begin our "how would you feel, you need to use your words, you don't just leave guests outside alone and confused".<br />Now, to get the true atmosphere of this conversation I must point out that it is all occuring while Veronica is walking from the garage door, past us in the living room and heading to the front door. When she reaches the front door, we have gotten to the "you don't just leave people outside alone and confused" part of our parenting speech so she proceeds to open the front door and yells out "Eden! I'm back!" and goes back outside.<br /><br />Drive thru parenting. One of the best parts of Spring.Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-67993207793495901792014-02-05T09:24:00.001-08:002014-02-05T09:24:27.582-08:00bunny earsToday Suzy was telling Mike a story while he was driving.<br />"And the chinese dancers 'ate' the food. Dad, I said that with bunny ears. You couldn't see me, so I'm telling you that I used the bunny ears".<br />Bunny ears = quote/unquote <br /><br />Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-14164183573414938272014-01-19T17:43:00.001-08:002014-01-19T17:43:08.896-08:00a giant tarantulaSuzy and Veronica were sent to bed. this conversation emerged from their room....<br /><br />Suzy: Veronica put away your coat like mom said.<br />......<br />Suzy: VERONICA! you have to hang it up in the closet. Don't just throw it on the floor. A giant tarantula could move in and we wouldn't even know it&nbsp; if our floor gets that messy again! <br /><br />Veronica: what's a tarantula?<br /><br />Suzy: It's a giant spider. a giant giant spider.<br /><br />I'm not sure who gave them this idea, but it seems to be working. So I'm not going to be in any rush to correct them about the normal habitat range of tarantulas. Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-74972829726478801492013-12-24T13:40:00.000-08:002013-12-24T13:40:15.360-08:00Tis the season to be... slightly morbidVeronica has been working hard at the craft table. asking us how to spell things in spite of her inability to write most letters and writing furiously. Finally finished with her project she proudly staples the final product (as all things have to be stapled lately) and presents it to Suzy.<br /><br />Veronica: Here Suzy, this is a book for you. It's so you can remember me when I'm dead.<br />Suzy: You can keep it.<br />Veronica: But it's about us. so you can remember me when I'm dead.<br />Suzy: I'll always remember you Veronica.<br />Veronica: Even all the stuff that we did? (great suspicion in her voice)<br />Suzy: Yes! (so exasperated that her sister would doubt her)<br />Veronica: But I made the book!<br />Momma can't take it anymore: Can I have the book?<br />Veronica: Yes! It's all about me. Read it to me Mom.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-72144295171440226502013-12-01T17:51:00.001-08:002013-12-01T17:51:14.415-08:00Just one parent pleaseit's a love/struggle time here in the Becksfort house tonight. Suzy and Veronica emerge from their room 30 minutes after being put to bed. This is the ensuing conversation:<br /><br />Mom: Hey, what are you guys doing out here?<br />Suzy: Um, I just need to talk to one of you.<br />Veronica: I need to talk to BOTH of you.<br />Mom: You need to tell me why you are out here and not in bed.<br />Veronica: Because Suzy wanted to get out of bed and come sleep out here (gesturing to the living room)<br />Suzy: NO! I wanted to know if i could go lay in your bed till Veronica falls asleep.<br />Veronica: I AM NEVER GOING TO SLEEP.<br />Suzy: yes, you will.<br />Veronica: No, and you cannot leave because I can not sleep by myself.<br />Mike: Yes, Suzy go lay on our bed. Veronica go back to your bed.<br />Veronica: But I can not ever sleep! (cue fake crying)<br /><br />These two are in a love/bicker/love/giggle/chase/bossy/love/bicker cycle lately. It doesn't help that Veronica took a nap today. I probably does feel like she will never sleep tonight. Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-16710796928149078552013-11-20T19:05:00.000-08:002013-11-20T19:40:21.380-08:00Suzy's interestsSuzy has had a hard time as of late. Poor Suzy is not allowed to do 10 year old things. This has become a terrible burden for her to bear. She did not get to go to the Crazy Hair tour with Mom, she did not get to go to the How To Train Your Dragon Live event with Nanny. Why do her big sisters get to do ALL the fun stuff and she gets to do NOTHING?<br /><br />In my best parenting tactic, I pull out the empathy card. "You know Suzy, Veronica feels the same way you do. She wishes she could do things that 7 year olds get to do".<br /><br />Suzy swats away this logic, as if it were no better than a pesky fruit fly. Try another tactic mom.<br /><br />"Alright, would it be fair to make Jillian and Alyssa only do things that 7 year olds can do? Do you want us to limit you to only do things that 4 year olds can do? Veronica is your little sister, she wants to do all the things too. If we make it so that the kids can only do things that everyone can do, that means you will only be doing the things that are appropriate for the 4 year old"<br /><br />Suzy replies with pure honesty. "You know Mom, I'm not really all that interested in Veronica's life, but I am REALLY interested in Jilli and Ali's".<br /><br />Ain't that just the way it goes little sister... Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-35665656036220155542013-11-20T18:56:00.001-08:002013-11-20T18:56:17.348-08:00Conversations with VeronicaVeronica had her first dance lesson this week. She loved it! I even got a "thank you for taking me to dance lessons today" when I tucked her in that night. score. When I asked her immediately after the class if she liked dancing she informed that that they had not learned any dancing. They learned how to run very carefully. I asked "oh you mean on your tippy toes?" she replied "no mom I used both my feet".<br /><br />Today, I was doing laundry downstairs and Veronica was playing upstairs at the dining room table. I had just brought up a load of laundry and was heading to their room to put it away when I heard Veronica let out a very loud fart in the dining room. She then proceeded to tell the empty room. "it wasn't me. that was a stinky one and I didn't do it". I'm not sure if it's progress or not that she's no longer trying to blame Casey as she did for about two weeks after we were done dog-sitting for Mike Shell.<br /><br />My mom was talking with Veronica about the fact that God knows everything and Veronica couldn't help but chime in. "I know everything too Nanny".&nbsp; *pause* "Do you think he heard that? cause I was just kidding". Well, if we have accomplished nothing else with our fourth child, we have apparently managed to put a little bit of the fear of the Lord in her.<br /><br />We got to attend a ballet performance of Beauty and the Beast starring our very favorite little Yeazel ladies tonight. Veronica sat on Mike's lap for the entire show. At one point when the village was ready to go after the beast, Veronica turns to Mike and whispers "We should not have come here". Fortunately she made it through to the happy ending and was glad enough to declare "I am glad we came". Suzy even cried a little when she thought the beast had died and was overjoyed after the show that she got to hug Belle. Apparently, Disney is closer to home than we thought :)<br /><br />Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-64628658140821138102013-08-03T20:40:00.003-07:002013-08-03T20:40:56.447-07:00Home Sweet Home! The last leg of our trip had its ups and downs, first the lake we went to in Texas decided not to be a lake anymore. Our plan was to camp near this beautiful lake in a national recreation area. When we got there we found a deserted and empty valley. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o7vQFwl5qPc/Uf3F5ifO5LI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/nCIJw0OKx0A/s1600/DSC_0038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o7vQFwl5qPc/Uf3F5ifO5LI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/nCIJw0OKx0A/s320/DSC_0038.JPG" width="320" />&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;This lake spanned for miles and is now basically a puddle of its former self. The camp sites were shockingly deserted and the wind was a pretty consistent 20-25 mph. Add all those factors together and you get Becksforts back on the road, headed for a motel.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g60skft7XXw/Uf3F9TfgLpI/AAAAAAAAAbY/RhXnvKl30NQ/s1600/DSC_0022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g60skft7XXw/Uf3F9TfgLpI/AAAAAAAAAbY/RhXnvKl30NQ/s320/DSC_0022.JPG" width="211" />&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;We did pass Cadillac Ranch and all the kids signed and decorated with Sharpies. Jillian was doing her best to make some logical sense out of Cadillacs buried in the ground for people to decorate. None to be found dear, none to be found. Just fun.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YKEp3fPFIEw/Uf3FxcsIbEI/AAAAAAAAAbI/FMmAdioDiiQ/s1600/DSC_0017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YKEp3fPFIEw/Uf3FxcsIbEI/AAAAAAAAAbI/FMmAdioDiiQ/s320/DSC_0017.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>&nbsp;This made me laugh out loud. "welp, I don't have a trailer, but I've got this extra truck see, but nobody to drive it for me, guess i'll just fix it up so it all works out"<br /><br />After we crashed in a Route 66 motel for the night, we got up and headed to Lake Eufaualah or something like that in Oklahoma. They still have water in Oklahoma, so that worked out well. the kids swam in the lake and we had smores by the fire and used glow necklaces and Jillian's sword from Disneyland to have a fun late night there. Ali was just about done with bugs at this point though. There's only so much nature a 10 year old girl can handle and the gross factor (as well as the tired factor) were starting to affect her ability to not freak out.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sA6cAQV_A8U/Uf3LWDevgqI/AAAAAAAAAbo/mH_LMWQN_TU/s1600/DSC_0054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sA6cAQV_A8U/Uf3LWDevgqI/AAAAAAAAAbo/mH_LMWQN_TU/s320/DSC_0054.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XE3Nd7SrIPs/Uf3Lg7pJzBI/AAAAAAAAAbw/hIrq4wnoAJ4/s1600/DSC_0058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XE3Nd7SrIPs/Uf3Lg7pJzBI/AAAAAAAAAbw/hIrq4wnoAJ4/s320/DSC_0058.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The next morning we had breakfast and headed out to our last stop before home. We drove all the way across Arkansas and into Tennessee. The main thing we noticed about Arkansas was that the scenery was starting to feel familiar again. Trees, hills, you know, normal stuff. vs deserts, flat flat flat flat cowfields, crazy mountain roads. The other thing we noticed about Arkansas is that they need to rename some of their towns (hello, Toad Suck, Arkansas we're talking to you) and reconsider their restaurant names. The "Pig Out Palace" and "Chair Crushers" (complete with logo of fat person breaking a chair) were two that we decided to skip for lunch.<br /><br />We made our way to Memphis, Tennessee where we turned south to stay at a Jellystone just across the border in Mississippi. We had heard that Jellystones were great for kids, so we thought it would be a treat for our last night camping. It was a great place to stay. They had inflatable water slides and a great pool. There were lots of playgrounds and other kids too. We were the only tent campers but it wasn't as hot as it had been so we were fine. We camped right next to a pond where there were baby toads and tree frogs all over our campsite. We couldn't have planned a better place for the kids to be entertained.<br /><br />We had planned a Grand "Last Day" for our adventure. We were going to let the kids play in the morning, have a big breakfast, and then head out to Nashville where we were going to stop at an ice cream joint recommended by Taylor Swift herself. We were then going to head up to Louisville and go see the giant Louisville Slugger baseball bat thing that Mike wanted to do and then drive the rest of the way home.<br />What ended up happening was: we saw the weather report.<br /><br />&nbsp;It was a 40% chance of severe thunderstorms starting at 6am.<br /><br />&nbsp;Bleh, who wants to spend the last morning of the trip taking down the tent in pouring rain? so... new plan. We got up at 5, broke camp and were on the road by a little after 6 with pop tarts for breakfast. Now the ice cream place didn't open till noon, so we didn't want to sit in the parking lot waiting for 4 hours so we decided to press on. The more we pressed on and the closer we got, the less we wanted to stop and do other stuff, so we just drove home.<br /><br />Coming home was precious because we have been blessed with incredible friends. Our house was cleaned, our laundry was done, our fridge was stocked, googly eyes were attached to all sorts of funny things around the house, pictures of Hippie Phil Collins were taped in places to startle us, and all of our silverware was frozen in a clump. My favorite part is that it's not just one friend who is so entertaining and wonderful, it's that God has blessed us with many different friends who bring this fun and blessings to our lives.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-csvcTDy8oGk/Uf3B6hXL6EI/AAAAAAAAAag/xQMw5Mod7DY/s1600/DSC_0078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-csvcTDy8oGk/Uf3B6hXL6EI/AAAAAAAAAag/xQMw5Mod7DY/s320/DSC_0078.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UVkcvl_m-gQ/Uf3B776NCuI/AAAAAAAAAao/dmJUSvFYj60/s1600/DSC_0079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UVkcvl_m-gQ/Uf3B776NCuI/AAAAAAAAAao/dmJUSvFYj60/s320/DSC_0079.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6Udd9d1Sb2M/Uf3BsKKrI7I/AAAAAAAAAaY/rJzvllOFdes/s1600/DSC_0081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6Udd9d1Sb2M/Uf3BsKKrI7I/AAAAAAAAAaY/rJzvllOFdes/s320/DSC_0081.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j92MEFlPUcA/Uf3CINVYdOI/AAAAAAAAAaw/r0cHmXPpvso/s1600/DSC_0082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j92MEFlPUcA/Uf3CINVYdOI/AAAAAAAAAaw/r0cHmXPpvso/s320/DSC_0082.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NFq57i_48zw/Uf3CQjvQ9KI/AAAAAAAAAa4/6ajBarR-5sk/s1600/DSC_0084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NFq57i_48zw/Uf3CQjvQ9KI/AAAAAAAAAa4/6ajBarR-5sk/s320/DSC_0084.JPG" width="211" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vmsg5YCbYjw/Uf3Mp0iqk8I/AAAAAAAAAcA/8_IvIXJLV0g/s1600/DSC_0481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vmsg5YCbYjw/Uf3Mp0iqk8I/AAAAAAAAAcA/8_IvIXJLV0g/s320/DSC_0481.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>We are very glad to be home, but I admit we have put another trip in the 5 year plan again. <br /><br />Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-32265919027630997942013-07-26T22:01:00.001-07:002013-07-26T22:01:17.987-07:00Petrified Forest and Painted DesertWe left Phoenix this morning after I made french toast for breakfast. It made me realize how long it had been since i'd cooked. It was such a great break, that it was actually nice to cook again. We drove for several hours and stopped at a rest area for lunch. We were glad we decided to eat when we did because the next rest area was 123 miles away. There was a lot of, shall we say, open spaces today. It was amazing to be able to see so far that we watched storms with lightening while we were in the shining sun. We also got to see several dust devils while we were driving in Arizona. Those were really cool to see too. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gzpm0EW1n5A/UfNK6jJktgI/AAAAAAAAAYo/OrHH1KxBd8w/s1600/DSC_0407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gzpm0EW1n5A/UfNK6jJktgI/AAAAAAAAAYo/OrHH1KxBd8w/s320/DSC_0407.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>&nbsp;After a while these cacti developed personalities. Especially the ones with two arms. This one had an arm stolen by a coyote and he's kind of sad about it. He plots how to poke the coyote if he comes around again.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5obEuOnORG4/UfNK5qSb0fI/AAAAAAAAAYg/X2W6bXpFoqs/s1600/DSC_0412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5obEuOnORG4/UfNK5qSb0fI/AAAAAAAAAYg/X2W6bXpFoqs/s320/DSC_0412.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>&nbsp;Then you get to sections where you can envision the group dynamics if they were a crowd of people. The ones with lots of tall sections are rastafarians :) or maybe it's just too much time looking at desert that gives one an active imagination....<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7LZyFXZ61mY/UfNODgSaubI/AAAAAAAAAY4/aiqx1pQRqj0/s1600/DSC_0418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7LZyFXZ61mY/UfNODgSaubI/AAAAAAAAAY4/aiqx1pQRqj0/s320/DSC_0418.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>&nbsp;This was one of the storms we were watching. Not sure if you can tell or not, but the closer clouds were actually pink on the bottom from reflecting the red desert dirt. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MuLfTcLqRCQ/UfNOO-j5qvI/AAAAAAAAAZA/7BHXaK3XI1M/s1600/DSC_0420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MuLfTcLqRCQ/UfNOO-j5qvI/AAAAAAAAAZA/7BHXaK3XI1M/s320/DSC_0420.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>&nbsp;We stopped by the Petrified Forest and it turned out to be very cool. These trees don't just turn into any kind of rock. they turn into pretty rocks.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kv5x3e8hqSA/UfNOXGDkcmI/AAAAAAAAAZI/bF1seVbKols/s1600/DSC_0423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kv5x3e8hqSA/UfNOXGDkcmI/AAAAAAAAAZI/bF1seVbKols/s320/DSC_0423.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>&nbsp;We were surprised by the colors.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--Tn_CJ6q9DU/UfNO0hI4S6I/AAAAAAAAAZY/khBXQZASw6k/s1600/DSC_0428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--Tn_CJ6q9DU/UfNO0hI4S6I/AAAAAAAAAZY/khBXQZASw6k/s320/DSC_0428.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>&nbsp;It's a tree, no it's a rock, no it's a rock that used to be a tree. crazy cool stuff.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gxrmICkOncc/UfNO20jWyuI/AAAAAAAAAZg/3-ANGpKmFI0/s1600/DSC_0433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gxrmICkOncc/UfNO20jWyuI/AAAAAAAAAZg/3-ANGpKmFI0/s320/DSC_0433.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>&nbsp;Hey Dad, I'm still super cute. You know you want me in that picture.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nyvMT4wOZ_8/UfNOxwGqXhI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/OQSmu0Q6dEM/s1600/DSC_0442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nyvMT4wOZ_8/UfNOxwGqXhI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/OQSmu0Q6dEM/s320/DSC_0442.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>We also got to see the Painted Desert. The rock layers were just beautiful.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PgfpSZd9mAM/UfNPIIR8kbI/AAAAAAAAAZo/6dIDJUqus3E/s1600/DSC_0454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PgfpSZd9mAM/UfNPIIR8kbI/AAAAAAAAAZo/6dIDJUqus3E/s320/DSC_0454.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>&nbsp;We actually had really great weather for our visit. A storm was coming so it wasn't super hot.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mEpzcpwsURY/UfNPWy4Z0zI/AAAAAAAAAZw/jjIV2puXGjY/s1600/DSC_0463.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mEpzcpwsURY/UfNPWy4Z0zI/AAAAAAAAAZw/jjIV2puXGjY/s320/DSC_0463.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>&nbsp;Well, then we drove on to see a 600 year old indian village and we were closer to the storm. The wind really picked up then. It was actually chilly, but we ran and saw what we wanted to see. It was very interesting. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MfwSE3LkKG8/UfNPXRrSuII/AAAAAAAAAZ4/PHeb-5tGNDw/s1600/DSC_0468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MfwSE3LkKG8/UfNPXRrSuII/AAAAAAAAAZ4/PHeb-5tGNDw/s320/DSC_0468.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XMYs6wUh-s4/UfNPhrtRYOI/AAAAAAAAAaA/EDMHRYABsN0/s1600/DSC_0469.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XMYs6wUh-s4/UfNPhrtRYOI/AAAAAAAAAaA/EDMHRYABsN0/s320/DSC_0469.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>&nbsp;these drawings were on the rocks next to the village.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kbhUlfs8q8s/UfNPrkGHzmI/AAAAAAAAAaI/3YANdkrDTZg/s1600/DSC_0480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kbhUlfs8q8s/UfNPrkGHzmI/AAAAAAAAAaI/3YANdkrDTZg/s320/DSC_0480.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>After that we drove through some rain, stopped at the visitors center so the twins could get their Jr. Ranger badges, and drove to Galllup, New Mexico. We ate at a local mexican restaurant on Route 66 because we felt that we had to have some good mexican food in New Mexico, although we did pass a Taco Bell to get there :) then we crashed in our hotel room and watched HGTV till we could watch no more. Tomorrow we head to a Lake north of Amarillo, TX and begin the last leg of camping to get us home. See you all soon!<br /><br />Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-73750088115551195472013-07-25T21:42:00.001-07:002013-07-25T23:20:40.908-07:00Family fun timeWow, what a great week in Southern California. We were so glad to get to spend time with family and everyone made time in their busy schedules for us. We stayed two nights with Aunt Marlene. She taught Jillian and Suzy how to knit. Jillian was so excited, she's been wanting to learn. We went to Laguna Beach and found a great little cove for the kids to play in. Since the waves were high, we thought we'd leave the kids in their clothes so there would be no arguing about "how far in was too far" and they could just play in the sand. This lasted maybe 15 seconds because the first wave (when they were in only to their ankles) splashed up all over their shorts. Veronica was the only one to stay dry, and she really tried not to get wet. A nice lady shared buckets and shovels with the girls, and they immediately set to work building "West Coast Fort Becks" ie a giant wall of sand to block the waves. They had a blast and we had a blast watching them. toward the end, Suzy decided to play her "run screaming from the waves game" that she has played since she was two. that girl loves to run. After a couple minutes though, there came a wave that Suzy could not outrun. It scooped her up and she tumbled head over heals sideways, ending up in a seated&nbsp; upright position with her feet in front of her floating as if on a board as the wave rolled in. Poor thing looked like a wet cat and we had to yell at her to stand up so she didn't just ride the wave on out again. That wave also took out the West Coast Fort Becks level to the ground and finally got veronica wet. we decided it was time to head back. we stripped the children down to their underwear at the van and brushed them off as best we could before we put hoodies on them to drive them home. Suzy had a solid layer of sand everywhere. we lifted her shirt and she looked like she was covered in fur. her pockets were loaded down with sand. She was blessed to escape with only one scrape on her arm. We went back to Aunt Marlene's and showered and then went off to have dinner with GG Marge and GG Art. We enjoyed a wonderful evening visiting on their back patio and watching their hummingbird "Red" fend off all the other hummingbirds from GG Marge's gourmet feeders.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RTJOZzfR2Fw/UfGKQUFAfyI/AAAAAAAAAUA/zH0mZyPPg2w/s1600/DSC_0012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RTJOZzfR2Fw/UfGKQUFAfyI/AAAAAAAAAUA/zH0mZyPPg2w/s320/DSC_0012.JPG" width="211" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LfHSKGhYsSo/UfGKTNGlpgI/AAAAAAAAAUI/xBSENh_Albw/s1600/DSC_0052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LfHSKGhYsSo/UfGKTNGlpgI/AAAAAAAAAUI/xBSENh_Albw/s320/DSC_0052.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mamOJHLrTls/UfGKWup5GQI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/cg7VWIDuBn0/s1600/DSC_0081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mamOJHLrTls/UfGKWup5GQI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/cg7VWIDuBn0/s320/DSC_0081.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G5ae6M398U0/UfGKpnzRY7I/AAAAAAAAAUg/kEvCcfTy134/s1600/DSC_0086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G5ae6M398U0/UfGKpnzRY7I/AAAAAAAAAUg/kEvCcfTy134/s320/DSC_0086.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>&nbsp;The next morning we had a delicious breakfast with Aunt Marlene and then packed up for Uncle Marlin and Aunt Patti's house. Since the beach was not cooperating, we called cousin Cassidy and went swimming in their pool for a couple hours. It's a fun pool and it's salt water, not chlorine, so the kids eyes weren't hurting. I hope this idea takes off in Ohio. Then we dried off and headed to Marlin and Patti's. They were so sweet and offered us a date night out, so we happily took them up on it. Aunt Marlene had given us a great coupon so we decided to use it and go to a local italian place for dinner. Marino's was delicious and the service was awesome. We then followed some of Cassidy's advice and headed to Belmont Shore. We parked our hoopdie minivan (which i had to ask mike how to spell it by the way, so that means we definitely aren't cool enough to use that word- especially because Mike wasn't sure how to spell it) and strolled with all the hip and happening crowd.&nbsp;&nbsp; We ended up at Sweet Jill's to pick up a couple treats to share with Marlin and Patti as a thank you. We were going to get ice cream, but were still too full from dinner. We got home and realized that our poor "slightly warm" Jillian had turned into a shivering but hot sicky girl that evening. Her fever lasted all the next day, so she and I stayed home from church. Danelle still brought her kids over for lunch in the afternoon, so we kept Jillian upstairs for most of the time which was a bummer because Eli loves rocks as much as Jillian. The rest of the kiddos played happily for the afternoon, and then the rest of the crew went over to see Danelle's house and tree house while Jillian and I stayed at the house and prayed her fever would go away for Disneyland the next morning. Sadly her fever did not break, but she was very understanding&nbsp; (and we certainly are praying that nobody else takes it on cruises or off to college or anything else with them). She had to miss out on Disneyland, but was comforted by a whole day of screens and a promise to go to Kings Island when we get home. Mike gets the World's Greatest #1 SuperDad award for taking the other 3 girls to a busy crowded Disneyland by himself for most of the day.&nbsp; Cousin Sheri did come help make the day a bit more girlie by bringing awesome tiaras and glow necklaces for the kids after the evening parade. And Aunt Patti gave me the chance to run up to Starbucks for a little time out of the house after sitting with fever kid for a couple days.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2iOTV-ZzhBI/UfGKtyxteZI/AAAAAAAAAUo/7DMaxs3AGkU/s1600/DSC_0110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2iOTV-ZzhBI/UfGKtyxteZI/AAAAAAAAAUo/7DMaxs3AGkU/s320/DSC_0110.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Glc_aXLZzr8/UfGKviKSqqI/AAAAAAAAAUw/BNlVcu6FCHk/s1600/DSC_0125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Glc_aXLZzr8/UfGKviKSqqI/AAAAAAAAAUw/BNlVcu6FCHk/s320/DSC_0125.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HVa85aAI3TE/UfGKiinYl-I/AAAAAAAAAUY/eq9GQjLjRB4/s1600/DSC_0120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HVa85aAI3TE/UfGKiinYl-I/AAAAAAAAAUY/eq9GQjLjRB4/s320/DSC_0120.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GFOk3EZD6Mk/UfGLDsZQMzI/AAAAAAAAAVI/VtfvVN3KCNI/s1600/DSC_0183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GFOk3EZD6Mk/UfGLDsZQMzI/AAAAAAAAAVI/VtfvVN3KCNI/s320/DSC_0183.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-33GDa9lNXE0/UfGLBh4kyVI/AAAAAAAAAVA/I-NGDZOZZQw/s1600/DSC_0208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-33GDa9lNXE0/UfGLBh4kyVI/AAAAAAAAAVA/I-NGDZOZZQw/s320/DSC_0208.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w0vOUecfhiw/UfGK_G8roBI/AAAAAAAAAU4/opevh-_PBg0/s1600/DSC_0358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w0vOUecfhiw/UfGK_G8roBI/AAAAAAAAAU4/opevh-_PBg0/s320/DSC_0358.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />&nbsp;Thankfully Jillian's fever broke during the night before our last full day in California, so she was able to swim in the pool at Uncle Larry and Aunt Lori's house and then go to the beach one last time and then swim in the pool some more. In a very exciting turn of events, Veronica learned to swim in their pool. We took a girl who didn't know how to come up for air and are bringing home a girl who can almost tread water and can certainly jump in one side of the pool and make her way to the other side of the pool by herself. We are also bringing home slightly pinker children than we left with. There is no amount of sunscreen that can completely hide the ohio-ness of our fair skin, so we are glad that we reapplied the 50 as often as we did and guess that when you get to the point where 50 times longer than zero is still zero minutes till you burn, then it's time to come in. The girls had a great time with their cousins Cassidy and Crystal. Veronica decided to be a mini-me for Crystal and Alyssa has declared she is never going to take out the braid that Cassidy put in her hair.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4C8MveKTeZE/UfIFOwQ0_wI/AAAAAAAAAVw/AhB7HUy9LcA/s1600/DSC_0383.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4C8MveKTeZE/UfIFOwQ0_wI/AAAAAAAAAVw/AhB7HUy9LcA/s320/DSC_0383.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our last day in Cali we headed to downtown LA to see the Hollywood sign and drive down Hollywood Boulevard. We also drove through Beverly Hills where I accidentally sang the song about Bel Air instead of one about Beverly Hills. We then saw some Beverly Hills Cops and drove down Rodeo Drive and talked a lot about stuff that our kids couldn't give two hoots about, bless their hearts. We did tell them that some of the clothes in those stores probably cost more than our van and that impressed them a little :)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hDXE9vXHh2M/UfIFPaBwRLI/AAAAAAAAAV8/Fkz3gqLZwqE/s1600/DSC_0393.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hDXE9vXHh2M/UfIFPaBwRLI/AAAAAAAAAV8/Fkz3gqLZwqE/s320/DSC_0393.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>So after driving in LA traffic we decided to hit the road and head to Phoenix. It's very very hot in Phoenix. The great news is that our AC works really well on the highway, so we didn't even notice how hot it was till we stopped for gas. Then it was very hard to convince the children to get out of the car. We drove through some neat desert and enjoyed seeing all the giant cactus. The kids took turns reading out of the "States" book as we had missed reading about California and Oregon and caught up to Arizona. We got to Aunt Meribeth and Uncle Dave's house around 7:30 and enjoyed visiting for a couple hours. We saw this beautiful sunset on the way.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vLr5q6YZjYA/UfID3o3zuII/AAAAAAAAAVY/mKaFCFj8MIU/s1600/DSC_0402.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vLr5q6YZjYA/UfID3o3zuII/AAAAAAAAAVY/mKaFCFj8MIU/s320/DSC_0402.JPG" width="320" />&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Uncle Dave had several appointments the next day, so we decided to hang out at our hotel and swim the next morning. Then we headed over and visited with cousin Elizabeth and cousin Andy till they got home. We got to meet Elizabeth's son Logan. He is such a cutie. I wish i had a picture of his belly button, it's just like a cabbage patch doll's belly button. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yDyaRbBIhCE/UfIMVcqJAvI/AAAAAAAAAWY/DJ-HvOizexQ/s1600/DSC_0004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yDyaRbBIhCE/UfIMVcqJAvI/AAAAAAAAAWY/DJ-HvOizexQ/s320/DSC_0004.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TNRpiuIuV2o/UfIMVTv3u8I/AAAAAAAAAWQ/yGxu1yxFSC4/s1600/DSC_0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TNRpiuIuV2o/UfIMVTv3u8I/AAAAAAAAAWQ/yGxu1yxFSC4/s320/DSC_0002.JPG" width="211" /></a></div>We were so glad to have a chance to sit down and visit with them, and we were especially glad that Uncle Dave was home from the hospital and we were all healthy enough to get to see him. We had a delicious Italian dinner with a baked ziti that will probably make baked ziti part of our dinner rotation from now on.We finally said goodbye and headed back to our hotel, which we are loving with it's super great price and little kitchen to cook in. If these were all over the country, we wouldn't be camping. and the fun part of it is, that it looks like this...<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_TVIYwPWEsE/UfIMSp8LkYI/AAAAAAAAAWM/Ul5fFVE1NUE/s1600/DSC_0006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_TVIYwPWEsE/UfIMSp8LkYI/AAAAAAAAAWM/Ul5fFVE1NUE/s320/DSC_0006.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>which totally reminds us of National Lampoon's Vacation hee hee.<br /><br /><br />Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-60520793015803197962013-07-19T00:05:00.001-07:002013-07-19T00:05:37.826-07:00LazySo today i got lazy and just uploaded a bunch of pictures to Facebook, they're in my Summer 2013 album if you want to see them. We are having a wonderful time in LA with family. We got to Grandma Maxine's house on tuesday night. The drive from San Fran to Phelan (which is pronounced "feelin" according to the people who know these things) was pretty boring, BUT it was one where I actually drove a bit (which hadn't happened for a while, poor mike) and the kids realized that when mom and dad promised them two episodes of their new pokemon shows from Nanny they scored gold because they were full length movies, not episodes and we had promised two.... so they watched tv almost the whole drive.<br /><br />We felt very loved because Grandma Maxine cooked for us and we had heard from very reliable sources that Grandma Maxine doesn't cook. The bonus was that there was even ice cream with magic shell.<br />We chatted till dark and then got a great night's sleep. We spent the next morning hearing stories of Grandma Maxine's travels and mission trips. We shared scarey mountain road stories and agreed that the jungle probably has more mosquitoes than Diamond Lake. probably.&nbsp; Grandma treated us to Subway for lunch and then we headed out to Uncle Bernie and Aunt Jeanette's house "down the hill" as Grandma Maxine called it.<br /><br />We got there in time to unload and let the children run around the house marveling at all the fun to be had because Aunt Jeanette had told them it was a "kid friendly house" and they took her at her word :) They were very sweet and drove us all to the picnic so we could have leg room and simply be along for the ride. it was heavenly:) The picnic was great. There was more than enough delicious food and the company couldn't have been better. We got to catch up with California cousins/Aunts/Uncles/Grandparents and hear all about the Portland Becksforts' trip to Disneyland and the beaches. The sadness of the picnic being over and having to say goodbye to the Portland Becksforts was tempered because after the picnic, we got to take another cousin home with us. Ava and cousin Mandy had planned a sleepover and there were 3 little party crashers that Mandy was sweet enough to take on for the evening as well. Sadly, by the time Mandy got them all to sleep, the rest of us had crashed (this is the part where our being "old" begins to show). <br /><br />By the next morning, the kids had decided to draw up adoption papers for Aunt Jeanette. Who wouldn't want to live where cousin Chad lets you beat him with pillows and there are Lucky Charms and Trix for breakfast? Aunt Jeanette tried to explain to them that life is a little different when you live there all the time, but I don't think they bought it.<br /><br />We had our first In-N-Out Burger for lunch. It was tasty! I have to admit that I'm a fan and that it's probably a good thing they don't have them in Ohio. We headed over to the shop to visit Bernie and show the girls where Mike worked when he lived here for a summer. They are very curious children and would have kept Bernie busy all day with questions and their desire to touch and explore everywhere. It was at the shop that i realized that I didn't get a picture of us with Aunt Jeanette and Chad and Mandy. boo. Bernie didn't get away so easily:) <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sawYVULJogQ/UejlJNXvsSI/AAAAAAAAATo/1FgjnEFb2So/s1600/DSC_0306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sawYVULJogQ/UejlJNXvsSI/AAAAAAAAATo/1FgjnEFb2So/s320/DSC_0306.JPG" width="211" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iscY69yM6Yw/UejlJLNEYrI/AAAAAAAAATs/tjtVWjBlXW4/s1600/DSC_0309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iscY69yM6Yw/UejlJLNEYrI/AAAAAAAAATs/tjtVWjBlXW4/s320/DSC_0309.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Finally, we headed out to Aunt Marlene's via a quick little road trip to drive past the house where Mike lived with Grandpa John and Maxine, my goodness so much has changed. We didn't even recognize the house.<br /><br />We arrived at Aunt Marlene's and settled in. Sadly, we have learned the beaches are closed because of riptides till Monday. This is something we had not really considered when planning our trip. Poor Jillian is just having no luck getting into water this summer. The pool at the hotel in San Fran was closed too. we may have to stay an extra day just to get some beach time in. <br /><br />Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-88293061721723331992013-07-15T23:36:00.003-07:002013-07-26T20:59:26.842-07:00San FranciscoMom and Dad arrived safely and it was great fun to see them "on the road". Mom and I did pretty well only chatting for a short bit when they got here even though we were excited to see each other. It may have had something to do with the fact that it was 3am for Mom, but we'll credit our self control and wisdom to conserve our energy. We planned a short day in the city for our first day and it was a good thing we did because our "short day" took us till 8pm to get back home. Figuring out public transportation takes a little while when you're used to being able to drive everywhere. We rode lots of buses and tram-thingys and a cable car though. The cable car was a roller coaster for the kids. Those roads are crazy. I think that will probably be my main impression of San Fran. "those roads are crazy". We visited Fisherman's Warf and Pier 39, spent some time in an old arcade. We ate at Fisherman's Grotto for lunch and it was delicious. We also went to the Ghirardelli Square where we got ice cream sundaes made with the world's best hot fudge. That was pretty much dinner.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pKFnZ6qdXzY/UfNC3pUKQDI/AAAAAAAAAWo/hdQ3mThhYaM/s1600/DSC_0027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pKFnZ6qdXzY/UfNC3pUKQDI/AAAAAAAAAWo/hdQ3mThhYaM/s320/DSC_0027.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-by2_xd08tWQ/UfNC5s4km9I/AAAAAAAAAWw/mcQw-QMuqWg/s1600/DSC_0107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-by2_xd08tWQ/UfNC5s4km9I/AAAAAAAAAWw/mcQw-QMuqWg/s320/DSC_0107.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CytA0qCplF0/UfNC8GdbxYI/AAAAAAAAAW4/F3zSxQCZwhE/s1600/DSC_0109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CytA0qCplF0/UfNC8GdbxYI/AAAAAAAAAW4/F3zSxQCZwhE/s320/DSC_0109.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XmHLJcBXoyg/UfNDUPPsElI/AAAAAAAAAXA/Vgs0fM7OXQU/s1600/DSC_0131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XmHLJcBXoyg/UfNDUPPsElI/AAAAAAAAAXA/Vgs0fM7OXQU/s320/DSC_0131.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WwPjqeVvqZQ/UfNDXT-wpbI/AAAAAAAAAXI/GR0SKIJHF-c/s1600/DSC_0143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WwPjqeVvqZQ/UfNDXT-wpbI/AAAAAAAAAXI/GR0SKIJHF-c/s320/DSC_0143.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />Today we were a little better prepared thanks to Mike who had spent the evening figuring out bus routes and BART routes. We adjusted a little on the fly today, and definitely had a better grasp on what we were doing thanks to his research.<br /><br />Crazy story of the day: We were downtown waiting for a bus when a van pulled up and a lady and her son jumped out. It was Missi Kershner, a mom I know from my Strategies group. We laughed at the odds that we would manage to run into each other, she snapped a pic and they ran off to buy her son pants at Old Navy because he forgot to pack any and it turns out that San Francisco is really stinking cold.<br /><br />We hopped our bus and went to the Golden Gate Park and played at the children's playground. It was really cool and the kids had a blast running around and being free to be regular kids for a while, not tourist-y kids. they had a carousel in the park and we rode on it too. Alyssa made a friend. She is amazing at that. Give that girl 5 minutes on her own and she'll find a new friend.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zwxF1W4PP4k/UfNDX2qhfyI/AAAAAAAAAXM/zfkdUj-neqk/s1600/DSC_0150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zwxF1W4PP4k/UfNDX2qhfyI/AAAAAAAAAXM/zfkdUj-neqk/s320/DSC_0150.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BvQm2zn8Lsk/UfNDtdARMvI/AAAAAAAAAXY/KYbZZAmPHA0/s1600/DSC_0173.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BvQm2zn8Lsk/UfNDtdARMvI/AAAAAAAAAXY/KYbZZAmPHA0/s320/DSC_0173.JPG" width="211" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k6yvKMGMA7o/UfND2N0jWaI/AAAAAAAAAXo/TnjDzxFk1EI/s1600/DSC_0209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k6yvKMGMA7o/UfND2N0jWaI/AAAAAAAAAXo/TnjDzxFk1EI/s320/DSC_0209.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-biJm-89XUlk/UfND0aHT5cI/AAAAAAAAAXg/JU1Ly3BVla4/s1600/DSC_0217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-biJm-89XUlk/UfND0aHT5cI/AAAAAAAAAXg/JU1Ly3BVla4/s320/DSC_0217.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>&nbsp;After that we went to find some lunch because it was like 1:30. Time is flying here. We ate at a little place called the Irving Street Cafe. We couldn't have had a better lunch. They were so nice. The 4 girls ate at the counter and the waitress took care of them like a mother, so we could eat peacefully at the table behind them. And the food was delicious! Simple easy food with fantastic prices. 8 of us ate our fill for under $50 and that included drinks. If we lived here, we would be regulars.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d2ILMnm4zao/UfNESc5mr0I/AAAAAAAAAX8/eedSrOzouK4/s1600/DSC_0226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d2ILMnm4zao/UfNESc5mr0I/AAAAAAAAAX8/eedSrOzouK4/s320/DSC_0226.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aJjdupoWaHo/UfNESOHFfxI/AAAAAAAAAX4/5DLp4G1htdw/s1600/DSC_0227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aJjdupoWaHo/UfNESOHFfxI/AAAAAAAAAX4/5DLp4G1htdw/s320/DSC_0227.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />After lunch we hopped a bus back into town and headed to Lombard Street. It was crazy to see the tiny garages and driveways of the people who actually live on that street. they must all drive tiny cars or Vespas. We took the bus through Chinatown and then headed back to the BART station.<br /><br />&nbsp;I could definitely do the subway/train thing into downtown if they had it in Cincinnati. The buses were a little crowded sometimes in downtown, but almost everyone we spoke to was very kind.<br /><br />&nbsp;about 1/8 of the people smell like weed. some of them were smoking it right in the street. Veronica said at one point "why does it smell like poop" what has she been eating? why does my 4 year old's poop smell like weed? we're going to go with the general idea that she meant to convey it stinks and we can all get on board with that idea. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DGmGpDBkrJM/UfNEQeHOTUI/AAAAAAAAAXw/Lssux00Jc0c/s1600/DSC_0237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DGmGpDBkrJM/UfNEQeHOTUI/AAAAAAAAAXw/Lssux00Jc0c/s320/DSC_0237.JPG" width="211" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o34OAh5B1gc/UfNEmM5wNgI/AAAAAAAAAYI/5s1AH-PEbMM/s1600/DSC_0250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o34OAh5B1gc/UfNEmM5wNgI/AAAAAAAAAYI/5s1AH-PEbMM/s320/DSC_0250.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZG9RgvJrqFw/UfNEpoIphAI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/AK7Kz2L_9vM/s1600/DSC_0253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZG9RgvJrqFw/UfNEpoIphAI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/AK7Kz2L_9vM/s320/DSC_0253.JPG" width="211" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br />Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-52498364733850783552013-07-13T23:29:00.001-07:002013-07-14T23:20:13.334-07:00Portland FunSo, I've realized I have no pictures with me to post as I am in Mom and Dad's hotel room waiting for them to arrive in San Fransisco and Mike has the camera in our room with the card on it. I can, however, tell you that we have passed the 1000 picture mark. Oh yes, friends, the slideshow after the trip is going to be FOREVERLONGAWESOME.<br />So just to bring you up to date....<br />We arrived in Portland and there was much rejoicing! yea! Ez and Hadley had made us cute little signs (yes, I'm claiming myself in the "us" because an Aunt can dream ya know ;) Cousin excitement and fun was so sweet to see. They all got along marvelously, especially considering that there was no such thing as down time while we were there. Sure Hadley could escape for a little tiny nap, but even then I napped with her one day (which was awesome and precious and she's the cutest and sweetest nap partner ever, she didn't kick me in the face once like some other "not-to-be-named" children who live in cincinnati) They had sleepovers every night that culminated in a giant sleepover our last night camping where both families slept in the same tent. Best sleepover EVER according to my children. but I have leapt ahead too far.<br />We ran around Portland a little, taking the kids to do fun stuff like play in a splash park, and eat ice cream at Ruby Jewel's. But we also gave them plenty of play time at home (which was Alyssa's favorite part, even to the point where she grumped a little about going out). The girls loved playing chicken farmers and practically reached under the chickens to get the fresh eggs. They loved getting the "still warm" ones.&nbsp; they had meetings in the chicken coop to plan defense strategies to defend the chickens from I'm not sure what, and they built forts in the kids rooms.<br />We did drag them out to Mt. St. Helens one day. we did the Jr. Ranger program at the Visitor's center and had a nice afternoon there. They all got their badges and were proud Jr. Rangers for a day.<br />It was a great visit in Portland, and then the best part was that when it was time to leave, it wasn't really like leaving because we all went! We camped in mosquito-ville near Crater Lake the first night and then drove and camped in the Redwoods the second night and then d-r-o-v-e to Santa Rosa and camped on Bodega Bay the 3rd night. For the record the 101 takes longer than a freeway and I'm pretty sure the Redwoods are so big that you don't really process the time passing as you stare at them. The great news is that while we have gone our separate ways today, we'll get to see them again in a couple days and that has made saying goodbye easier on the kids. I'll post pictures to go with this part of the trip tomorrow night when I'm with my SD card. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-twsf8EgK8Fc/UeON5XU_0PI/AAAAAAAAARE/LIVwoewcE-g/s1600/DSC_0813.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-twsf8EgK8Fc/UeON5XU_0PI/AAAAAAAAARE/LIVwoewcE-g/s320/DSC_0813.JPG" width="211" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">some street fireworks were very fun and exciting.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E06XFeyLnfs/UeON6TQPwbI/AAAAAAAAARM/CGyuBqv9x7w/s1600/DSC_0842.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E06XFeyLnfs/UeON6TQPwbI/AAAAAAAAARM/CGyuBqv9x7w/s320/DSC_0842.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The OPs at the rose garden. (that's old peeps, for you unhip peeps like me who needed an explanation from Ali) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HNfOdwiOh-o/UeOO3NwNHJI/AAAAAAAAARY/XZ-mhlnsUcg/s1600/DSC_0868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HNfOdwiOh-o/UeOO3NwNHJI/AAAAAAAAARY/XZ-mhlnsUcg/s320/DSC_0868.JPG" width="211" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">come hide and giggle in my cabinet with me. ok. (slight paraphrase, but that's what they did)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XTXk_vZ8AK4/UeOO3JuoJzI/AAAAAAAAARc/Im0aEttzkCs/s1600/DSC_0872.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XTXk_vZ8AK4/UeOO3JuoJzI/AAAAAAAAARc/Im0aEttzkCs/s320/DSC_0872.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Helping Aunt Lee cook. V is going to be a cooker when she grows up.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JHW-RlbdWDg/UeOO3AW4PkI/AAAAAAAAARk/HqFMmnCv2a4/s1600/DSC_0883.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JHW-RlbdWDg/UeOO3AW4PkI/AAAAAAAAARk/HqFMmnCv2a4/s320/DSC_0883.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Making a small earthquake at Mt. St. Helens </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZyttXFSex-M/UeOO84YM-1I/AAAAAAAAARw/6Z7WpW30SjU/s1600/DSC_0927.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZyttXFSex-M/UeOO84YM-1I/AAAAAAAAARw/6Z7WpW30SjU/s320/DSC_0927.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Cousin Jason! Yea!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Txgk9PnY8hM/UeOO-FNf5rI/AAAAAAAAASA/ocr20Kxtaho/s1600/DSC_0940.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Txgk9PnY8hM/UeOO-FNf5rI/AAAAAAAAASA/ocr20Kxtaho/s320/DSC_0940.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Lunch at the splash park</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xIKsa-IyDhA/UeOO9Ijd6uI/AAAAAAAAAR0/MqHp19vVzVM/s1600/DSC_0945.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xIKsa-IyDhA/UeOO9Ijd6uI/AAAAAAAAAR0/MqHp19vVzVM/s320/DSC_0945.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Kettle Corn filled to the brim!</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GhQz2ymYgWY/UeOO_flAFnI/AAAAAAAAASI/5QBNfC17YJM/s1600/DSC_0956.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GhQz2ymYgWY/UeOO_flAFnI/AAAAAAAAASI/5QBNfC17YJM/s320/DSC_0956.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruby Jewel Ice Cream.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S-F9mq3WwoY/UeOP9MfWaoI/AAAAAAAAASU/YodKBcZWnMc/s1600/DSC_0977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S-F9mq3WwoY/UeOP9MfWaoI/AAAAAAAAASU/YodKBcZWnMc/s320/DSC_0977.JPG" width="211" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">We found frogs at Diamond Lake</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dC-kXW10Vjo/UeOP-W7-daI/AAAAAAAAASc/Z2fuJ9QxyZ4/s1600/DSC_1006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dC-kXW10Vjo/UeOP-W7-daI/AAAAAAAAASc/Z2fuJ9QxyZ4/s320/DSC_1006.JPG" width="320" />&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Diamond Lake </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pQyG1WGfkMA/UeOQ4KjJ1UI/AAAAAAAAASo/cKOvL7HPHLA/s1600/DSC_0007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pQyG1WGfkMA/UeOQ4KjJ1UI/AAAAAAAAASo/cKOvL7HPHLA/s320/DSC_0007.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;Crater Lake is crazy blue. Gorgeous!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T8hWsDt-UVo/UeOQ9fexeLI/AAAAAAAAAS0/l2E0SJhK63k/s1600/DSC_0019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T8hWsDt-UVo/UeOQ9fexeLI/AAAAAAAAAS0/l2E0SJhK63k/s320/DSC_0019.JPG" width="211" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Family pic for Oma</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TimRelAX1L0/UeOQ9KP_h4I/AAAAAAAAASw/PGIzR0nObw0/s1600/DSC_0047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TimRelAX1L0/UeOQ9KP_h4I/AAAAAAAAASw/PGIzR0nObw0/s320/DSC_0047.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">S'mores!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MFtVJqqzTK4/UeOQ-CtbYfI/AAAAAAAAATA/QkjWOfPDJzI/s1600/DSC_0066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MFtVJqqzTK4/UeOQ-CtbYfI/AAAAAAAAATA/QkjWOfPDJzI/s320/DSC_0066.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Mamas making lunches.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vDZUDFC9Jp0/UeORDhmpU4I/AAAAAAAAATU/WfDFfxqdvYU/s1600/DSC_0075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vDZUDFC9Jp0/UeORDhmpU4I/AAAAAAAAATU/WfDFfxqdvYU/s320/DSC_0075.JPG" width="211" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">While the kids find trees to climb in with their Dads.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sYXaIU5PGm0/UeORDcTyIhI/AAAAAAAAATQ/DwyzRa0rEEg/s1600/DSC_0104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sYXaIU5PGm0/UeORDcTyIhI/AAAAAAAAATQ/DwyzRa0rEEg/s320/DSC_0104.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The minivan wouldn't fit, but Uncle Jeff's Land Rover drove through the tree.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KWZnYgYeSCo/UeORCVEKVNI/AAAAAAAAATI/VuuNXfiW4KE/s1600/DSC_0113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KWZnYgYeSCo/UeORCVEKVNI/AAAAAAAAATI/VuuNXfiW4KE/s320/DSC_0113.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And all the kiddos got to ride through too.</td></tr></tbody></table>Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-21559497697916775962013-07-04T20:06:00.002-07:002013-07-05T06:50:00.855-07:00YellowstoneSo, Yellowstone was awesome. Driving into Yellowstone- not so much. We decided to take the advice from the little old guy who ran the motel in Sheridan and go route 14A instead of interstate up and around to the North side of the park.<br /><br />&nbsp;"There will be animals" he said. "Herds of 300 buffalo" he said.<br /><br />First I will address the fact that we only saw 2 pronghorns, which we called antelope-y things, before we got into the park. The seconds and most important point that can be made here is that the road WAS STRAIGHT FROM HELL for those of us with a fear of heights. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7E4HU6Y97Qs/UdYjyIA7X3I/AAAAAAAAAMo/Dxzoy76YdX0/s1600/DSC_0278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7E4HU6Y97Qs/UdYjyIA7X3I/AAAAAAAAAMo/Dxzoy76YdX0/s320/DSC_0278.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I started out driving, and may have come as close as i ever have to a full panic attack. Mike took this picture out the window, you can see how the road just runs along the very edge of cliffs. This was probably about 1/2 way up the mountain.&nbsp; I felt like I was driving off into air constantly. not cool little old man at the motel. not cool. I made it all the way to the top and decided that I had made it that far, i was going to drive my shift. Then we came to a sign that said "Brake Check area ahead" and then a sign that said "Steep declines 10% grade ahead". I pulled over and Mike drove, which was good because I would have put the car in the ditch (on the side by the mountain of course) and climbed out and laid as flat as possible and cried till they drugged me or knocked me unconscious to get me back in the car. As it was, I cried and closed my eyes and told Mike that he was driving waaaay too fast and then repeated that he is an excellent driver and I know that I'm not in my right mind, but no one was allowed to talk to him while he drove except me to tell him he's going too fast. About 3/4 of the way down the mountain, the smell of the brakes made me very happy that Mike and Dad had replaced the brakes before we left for the trip. There was one view that had me yelling "You Have Got To Be Kidding Me!!!!!!" because there is no way that people don't die off that, the tourism industry keeps it all hush hush, I'm pretty sure. but as you can see, there are no pictures of that. My blood pressure is rising just remembering it.<br /><br />The good news is that after we got into Yellowstone, we got to see our first Grizzly bear. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HZCSIP6sq1s/UdYnKJvb45I/AAAAAAAAAM4/JZ7CrdWD_eM/s1600/DSC_0314.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HZCSIP6sq1s/UdYnKJvb45I/AAAAAAAAAM4/JZ7CrdWD_eM/s320/DSC_0314.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>and technically we wouldn't have seen it if we had come in from the north side, so I guess there's that. It was fun though, everyone just pulled off the road and was standing around pointing. It turns out that this is how Yellowstone works, if you see people pulled over pointing, you pull over and ask what they're pointing at. Then you all stand around looking and pointing together and telling the new people. It's very fun.<br />There are also tons of Buffalo in Yellowstone. We did get to see a herd of them in the park with their babies. Mike was nearly killed by the estrogen release as a giant "awwwwww" came out of the back of the van upon realizing there were babies in the herd. There was a group stopped to see an elk, but by then we were tired and wanted to get to camp. Our campsite was fantastic. It was plenty big, we were caddy corner from the real bathrooms and dish sink, and it was right across from a family that had built their own trailer. I could see the wheels turning in Mike's brain as he talked to Rich about building it. We packed up everything into the van every night as our check in guy had told us they had a grizzly through the camp the week prior.<br />We saw lots of great stuff in Yellowstone. We got to see Old Faithful twice.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L1xEzNc-yxg/UdYs5FmpAZI/AAAAAAAAANI/ZeN_pn5MARE/s1600/DSC_0415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L1xEzNc-yxg/UdYs5FmpAZI/AAAAAAAAANI/ZeN_pn5MARE/s320/DSC_0415.JPG" width="320" />&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Go Bearcats!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5vAwlL_LIZU/UdYuWy7yuhI/AAAAAAAAANY/6jeqJIaXiV8/s1600/DSC_0454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5vAwlL_LIZU/UdYuWy7yuhI/AAAAAAAAANY/6jeqJIaXiV8/s320/DSC_0454.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;The hot springs are pretty, but smell a bit like sulfur sometimes,&nbsp; which in turn causes loud gagging sounds to emit from Alyssa.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5HUVmQEZwxM/UdYuXXRvqKI/AAAAAAAAANk/UkAzgVDD7IE/s1600/DSC_0569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5HUVmQEZwxM/UdYuXXRvqKI/AAAAAAAAANk/UkAzgVDD7IE/s320/DSC_0569.JPG" width="211" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;Our hike to Clear Lake, which turned out to smell a little too.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VoRbmyri-zU/UdYuXR-LFNI/AAAAAAAAANg/OdcqyvE1Rkw/s1600/DSC_0583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VoRbmyri-zU/UdYuXR-LFNI/AAAAAAAAANg/OdcqyvE1Rkw/s320/DSC_0583.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">At the Falls in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone (yes, i went there- personal growth high fives all around) Jillian and Mike wanted to go down a steep stairway/pathway and they took Veronica and Alyssa with them. Jillian took this picture. I didn't cry when she showed me (more high fives).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wdt9qBbHwA4/UdYvtqfwr4I/AAAAAAAAAN4/Mlm0jRhMRYo/s1600/DSC_0590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wdt9qBbHwA4/UdYvtqfwr4I/AAAAAAAAAN4/Mlm0jRhMRYo/s320/DSC_0590.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;Then we saw an Elk as we drove to Mammoth Hot Springs. Also note to Mom: Don't drive the NorthEast sections of the upper loop. Not as bad as the drive in, but Yellowstone and I strained our friendship a bit during that drive.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZP2iSzcs1Ug/UdYwFIuyN3I/AAAAAAAAAOA/al7Ho9JK4Hs/s1600/DSC_0607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZP2iSzcs1Ug/UdYwFIuyN3I/AAAAAAAAAOA/al7Ho9JK4Hs/s320/DSC_0607.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Which it turns out is where all the girls hang out.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bb-ijJ5uito/UdYzv1dxceI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/ES4kIrm1QBw/s1600/DSC_0637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bb-ijJ5uito/UdYzv1dxceI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/ES4kIrm1QBw/s320/DSC_0637.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>&nbsp;And then we saw our second grizzly.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ic0WWW94Kvw/UdYzv-ToeyI/AAAAAAAAAOU/TvHq08GrbY4/s1600/DSC_0641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ic0WWW94Kvw/UdYzv-ToeyI/AAAAAAAAAOU/TvHq08GrbY4/s320/DSC_0641.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;We decided to walk to Fairy Falls, by long roundabout way. We aren't sure exactly how long our hike was, because there were some inconsistencies in the distances listed, but it definitely was not the popular hike that most people take. We passed some people from Montgomery on the way.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;">We tested our hiking/ trail following skills around some hot springs that had flooded the trail. We walked through all kinds of terrain.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hkN6rFT_vZU/UdYzwb8z9xI/AAAAAAAAAOg/aSef91F5kjE/s1600/DSC_0654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hkN6rFT_vZU/UdYzwb8z9xI/AAAAAAAAAOg/aSef91F5kjE/s320/DSC_0654.JPG" width="211" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;This was a little over 1/2way. You can see the falls waaaay back on that ridge off to the left.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bW6WjuCPeXU/UdYzw8TBlpI/AAAAAAAAAOk/qzetwOP2LSI/s1600/DSC_0658.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bW6WjuCPeXU/UdYzw8TBlpI/AAAAAAAAAOk/qzetwOP2LSI/s320/DSC_0658.JPG" width="211" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">We made it!! there had been a lot less shade than we had hoped, but the girls were awesome troopers, and the sunscreen held up well. the only toasty parts ended up being spots we missed when we sprayed up that morning. Mike and I figure he carried a kid for probably 6 miles and I carried one for 3 (on and off). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9t0inAOONGg/UdY3W-zU0ZI/AAAAAAAAAO4/W4qe_ae3Xvw/s1600/DSC_0692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9t0inAOONGg/UdY3W-zU0ZI/AAAAAAAAAO4/W4qe_ae3Xvw/s320/DSC_0692.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;We chose the Prismatic (i think that's the name) as our last stop before heading back to camp on our last night.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mwH3XRfYVPc/UdY3XAgIbaI/AAAAAAAAAO8/fyUw9Odaw7A/s1600/DSC_0712.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mwH3XRfYVPc/UdY3XAgIbaI/AAAAAAAAAO8/fyUw9Odaw7A/s320/DSC_0712.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">And i'll finish this post with a picture of where we went creekin in the evenings. One evening we even shared the space with a buffalo. Our campground was right off the little beachy looking part on the right. There the stream on the right (cold water) joined with a smaller stream off to the left (warm water). You could stand&nbsp; with a leg in cold water and a leg in warm at one point. </div>Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-2806190140278919822013-06-28T20:59:00.000-07:002013-06-28T20:59:16.941-07:00Packing upWell, I would definitely call our first week of camping a huge success. The kids have done a great job of getting along (most of the time, it's South Dakota, not Heaven), and nobody is broken. Suzy had a lame leg for the morning, we're not sure if she got kicked in the pool or slept funny or if it's just growing pains, but it was fine by this evening so we're going with it. Today we did the Jr. Ranger Program at Jewel Cave. It was great and it was free! We all learned a lot from it and the kids earned Jr. Ranger Badges and Patches. They have the program at Yellowstone too so we'll be checking into that when we get there. We even found a Museum of Woodcarving for Mike and Jillian today. It was different than what I originally expected, but very cool too. It was the collection of the guy who developed 3D animation (using his woodcarvings) and who was then contacted by Walt Disney to design their stuff in Disneyland. Who knew?&nbsp;<br /><br />We are packed up and ready to roll after breakfast in the morning. the kids all have their one outfit for tomorrow (we have realized that this procedure works best for us). it's been a good and relaxing night except for the screaming when we used Aloe on the kids faces.&nbsp; Whatever they use in their pool here has really made the kids skin sensitive. but their faces aren't as pink, so they are seeing that they needed the aloe. Fortunately no one is very badly burned (name that movie...)<br /><br />Here are a few pics, some compliments of Ali as she has started to take an interest in taking the pictures. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4VKP9FERxnY/Uc5ZAtGgMoI/AAAAAAAAALo/tZDLPJ1eHIQ/s1600/DSC_0497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4VKP9FERxnY/Uc5ZAtGgMoI/AAAAAAAAALo/tZDLPJ1eHIQ/s320/DSC_0497.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9xMhhx9jt5E/Uc5Zgf4T-XI/AAAAAAAAALw/hlKWMEMDPqE/s1600/DSC_0508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9xMhhx9jt5E/Uc5Zgf4T-XI/AAAAAAAAALw/hlKWMEMDPqE/s320/DSC_0508.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ajq_3e8FYWU/Uc5aPWGd68I/AAAAAAAAAMI/O_o8hutwHXs/s1600/DSC_0521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ajq_3e8FYWU/Uc5aPWGd68I/AAAAAAAAAMI/O_o8hutwHXs/s320/DSC_0521.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-STTXDTLYPsc/Uc5aPANwh-I/AAAAAAAAAMA/ghaz2WwKPSQ/s1600/DSC_0527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-STTXDTLYPsc/Uc5aPANwh-I/AAAAAAAAAMA/ghaz2WwKPSQ/s320/DSC_0527.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>&nbsp;This was a test space for the people going on the super crazy caving tours. We saw a not very large man get himself almost stuck and heard later that the cave goes on about that size for 700 feet. Um, no thanks. I told the girls that Miss Beth would take them caving someday in KY when they are old and I will just stand at the entrance of the cave and cry till they come out. it will be super fun.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QaWoOQKc-DI/Uc5aQebAX4I/AAAAAAAAAMQ/B2nRfJ_lS4Q/s1600/DSC_0627.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QaWoOQKc-DI/Uc5aQebAX4I/AAAAAAAAAMQ/B2nRfJ_lS4Q/s320/DSC_0627.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1oWuIyI0Ttc/Uc5aRmi2uBI/AAAAAAAAAMY/SVJlUzL4knM/s1600/DSC_0635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1oWuIyI0Ttc/Uc5aRmi2uBI/AAAAAAAAAMY/SVJlUzL4knM/s320/DSC_0635.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The bookstore at Rushmore. We're good Mom, no need to buy it, we'll just go ahead and read it here.<br />Off to bed, hopefully the new arrivals will settle down soon. They are a bit scream-y compared to all the other neighbors. Noobs.<br />PS we've also created a new word. Famping is fake camping and it applies to the RV that moved in that has a separate outside kitchenette, in addition to its inside kitchen. When you bring your whole house with you, you are a fake camper. that is all.Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-48627011636039213002013-06-27T22:25:00.001-07:002013-06-27T22:25:17.447-07:00Day 6, I think?<br />So we've very quickly lost track of time and days, all the time zone switching hasn't helped us either. We did arrive at a tourist "attraction" or "trap" as one might say at 7am the morning after we drove through the night. Amazingly enough they are used to crazies like us and were open and we were not their first customers. Someone else showed up at 6:15 am. I've been journaling every day-ish, but i'll just catch you up real quick with some pictures for now. Amazingly enough our campsite has internet, but bad cell reception, but we're only getting on tonight to figure out our coordinates for Yellowstone and a quick picture update to share. We loved the Badlands. It was very fun to climb around on the rocks, and if there wasn't so much stuff to do here around Rushmore, we would be heading back. The good news is that we LOVE South Dakota. There are no mosquitos here. None. no spray and no bites. They should really advertise that more. So we are sure we will be coming back at some point and we will schedule more time to hike (with bigger kiddos) in the Badlands.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KJN0FTIAM1o/Uc0cTH1C4lI/AAAAAAAAALI/wFbBhxTb0Ic/s1600/DSC_0375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KJN0FTIAM1o/Uc0cTH1C4lI/AAAAAAAAALI/wFbBhxTb0Ic/s320/DSC_0375.JPG" width="320" />. </a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7Ky-yM1BXn8/Uc0dL865ihI/AAAAAAAAALQ/l1L6uVuX52I/s1600/DSC_0369.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7Ky-yM1BXn8/Uc0dL865ihI/AAAAAAAAALQ/l1L6uVuX52I/s320/DSC_0369.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YqG75SmNrGo/Uc0dPxo0C4I/AAAAAAAAALY/3Zu62mgGt5g/s1600/DSC_0443.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YqG75SmNrGo/Uc0dPxo0C4I/AAAAAAAAALY/3Zu62mgGt5g/s320/DSC_0443.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>We made it to marker 5. It was like a treasure hunt, having to find each marker to head out into the horizon. but then we were tuckered out. 3 hours of sleep for adults and little legs will do that to a crew. Off to get more sleep for now. last day of Black Hills tomorrow. Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-90650420481841940772013-06-22T19:24:00.000-07:002013-06-22T19:24:24.048-07:00ROAD TRIP!!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-okrDOcbF36w/UcYw0HFDPOI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/R2r2ddboxrA/s1600/DSC_0158.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-okrDOcbF36w/UcYw0HFDPOI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/R2r2ddboxrA/s320/DSC_0158.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">What Mike heard as he's packing the van: oh, oh, and this. and this too. and then just this one more thing...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_igXDerE9wY/UcYxsFwNSaI/AAAAAAAAAKU/cxsbTIkL_eU/s1600/DSC_0164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_igXDerE9wY/UcYxsFwNSaI/AAAAAAAAAKU/cxsbTIkL_eU/s320/DSC_0164.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Ready?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-np_dQUzPN8g/UcYyINuFIPI/AAAAAAAAAK8/KFnRj4KuDsE/s1600/DSC_0166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-np_dQUzPN8g/UcYyINuFIPI/AAAAAAAAAK8/KFnRj4KuDsE/s320/DSC_0166.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So we got out a little later than we aimed for, but we were on the road by 8:30am, which for us is awesome. Mike and I started the trip realizing that we put this trip in our long range plans 5 years ago, and we are actually doing it. That's a little crazy.&nbsp; The girls have been great sports. You can see the miracles that Mike and Mike Shell performed to get everything into the van. It was manly tetris at its best. While Veronica doesn't have much leg room, it works out because she's a dropper of things and this way she can just pick it right back up because it doesn't fall far.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-np_dQUzPN8g/UcYyINuFIPI/AAAAAAAAAK4/YSOM2xpwdeo/s1600/DSC_0166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-37-Wq4jNuBc/UcYxpbSWcoI/AAAAAAAAAKA/IpTBoUw5LOg/s1600/DSC_0174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-37-Wq4jNuBc/UcYxpbSWcoI/AAAAAAAAAKA/IpTBoUw5LOg/s320/DSC_0174.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">We passed this town on our first day. It's all in the inflection.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Our first travel day has been excellent. We made a couple stops and had lunch at a rest stop. We threw the sticky ball a bit and just let everyone run a little. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kZ886bV8bag/UcYxsBWo_kI/AAAAAAAAAKM/IKdP-eUZHIY/s1600/DSC_0179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kZ886bV8bag/UcYxsBWo_kI/AAAAAAAAAKM/IKdP-eUZHIY/s320/DSC_0179.JPG" width="211" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Our first road repair! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fvOVIa3RjX4/UcYx0G6yXiI/AAAAAAAAAKY/2ysLn6gepQ0/s1600/DSC_0181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fvOVIa3RjX4/UcYx0G6yXiI/AAAAAAAAAKY/2ysLn6gepQ0/s320/DSC_0181.JPG" width="211" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">This even got a good test later when we drove through an incredible storm. Lightning hit the field right next to the van. I may have screamed a little. We definitely felt the thunder slam into the van. It may have been said several times from the back of the van during the rest of the drive "remember when that lightning hit?".</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s-YUAYn-G8s/UcYx6vutV6I/AAAAAAAAAKg/yMuIA_O4XbM/s1600/DSC_0183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s-YUAYn-G8s/UcYx6vutV6I/AAAAAAAAAKg/yMuIA_O4XbM/s320/DSC_0183.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Veronica did this herself.(well I added the smile after a few minutes). We decided it was a brilliant idea and made the "I'm not complaining" tape. We plan on threatening people with it later in the trip if necessary. and only if Veronica stops wearing it for fun.</div><a name='more'></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x4uUzqYHLn0/UcYx-5SdhmI/AAAAAAAAAKo/Ey1Nuosv0JI/s1600/DSC_0191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x4uUzqYHLn0/UcYx-5SdhmI/AAAAAAAAAKo/Ey1Nuosv0JI/s320/DSC_0191.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">We thought that we might have driven out of the storm, but it reappeared when we got downtown in St. Louis. Here Mike is consulting GoogleMike (aka MikeShell) about the weather prospects. They turned out to be terrible. The storm was just sitting on top of downtown. We parked and waited for an hour, but admitted defeat when the lightning and wind just wouldn't let up. Rain we would have ventured out into, but the lightning with the sideways rain was a bit much. The girls watched two episodes of Flipper. Veronica said "This is scarey, I'm not going to watch" so she turned her head sideways and watched out the side of her eyes. Alyssa just hid behind Vee's chair. Who knew there was such suspense in Flipper. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J3BvSrUxwUc/UcYyGpFoWlI/AAAAAAAAAKw/Zwj7C308Lo8/s1600/DSC_0192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J3BvSrUxwUc/UcYyGpFoWlI/AAAAAAAAAKw/Zwj7C308Lo8/s320/DSC_0192.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <br />So our campsite was smack in the middle of the storm as well, so we bailed and are at a La Quinta for the night watching America's Got Talent. We're going to see the arch in the morning as the storm is supposed to be through by 1 am. We realized tonight that 4 girls on a bed doesn't work anymore. Mainly because Jillian and Alyssa's feet hang off by almost 7 inches now. Goodness they have grown so fast. but we have happy volunteers for the floor anyway so it's not so bad. We are really looking forward to the Great Wolf Lodge tomorrow. Jillian is desperate to get in a pool as we have not yet been this summer. Usually with swim team they are in everyday and it's killing Jillian that our hotel pool tonight was closed because of the storm. I almost stuck her in a bath just to put her in some water. :) The girls have been so fun though. We have had quite a bit of screen time today, but lots of chat time too. I think that's going to be my favorite part of the trip. That and listening to the girls sing "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-QhAqWd_KQ" target="_blank">Holiday Road</a>".&nbsp; We play it every time we start driving:)Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-42866819067180928182012-08-13T20:30:00.000-07:002012-08-13T20:30:06.351-07:00Summer FunToday I shall start my post which will become the understood fact for all future posts. Time is not a fixed standard and I know this because it is passing much more quickly now than it did when I was 5 years old. We are all under a delusion which is perpetuated by the "clock" and it's lies of consistency. Now on to the rest of the post.... school starts in 8 days. Just yesterday I met a man who told me his wife had his youngest daughter for the summer except for vacation, and she was coming home next week. I asked the next logical question "where are you going on vacation then?". Um, no she's coming home for school to start, they had already done the vacation earlier in the summer. My mind was so boggled that i felt literally dizzy. What? I am in no way prepared for such a thing. not emotionally, physically, or spiritually. Yikes.<br />So since summer is almost over, I will share with you what we did with it. We had parties, we had swim team and swim meets, we had drama camp, we had Puppet Shows, we did a Beth Moore study, we went to a train show, we went to Panegyri, we did VBS, we went to the pool, we did supper with our M&amp;Ms Sunday school class, we walked with friends, we rode bikes, we helped with yearbook, we had a yard sale, we had wednesday night dinners with the Gasts, we had family vacations, we had Dads in hospitals (all out now and doing great), we had swim championships, we helped friends move in up the street, we had swim ministry, we saw the bird show at the zoo, we had a family camping trip, we rode our first water slide, we had a day in Dollywood, we had Women of Faith, we went to Georgia and kayaked for the first time, we went ice skating in August, we packed meals for starving kids in Uganda, we helped with a friend's wedding, we were a bubble girl, we learned to recite Shel Silverstein, we listened to all of the Chronicles of Narnia on CD, we went to the pool, we had movie night, we wore out the expensive swim suits, we had a cousin get engaged, a cousin have a baby, a cousin get married and a visit from a cousin we haven't seen in *cough* years and met their beautiful baby, we had a great friend get cancer, we had friends say goodbye to Killer, we read books, we played pilgrims, we started a fort in the woods, we lost the owl in our woods, we put in a pond, we threw a wedding shower and we slept in late one time, or maybe two. <br />Although we didn't get around to making a list of things we wanted to do this summer, it's nice to have a list of things we did to help us get over the fact that it's almost done (at least as far as free time goes). now it's time to print off the school supply lists and hope the crayons and dry erase markers aren't all gone at Wal-mart. Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-34103975759201618122012-03-27T20:52:00.000-07:002012-03-27T20:52:33.718-07:00little miss 'tudeThis morning's glimpse into the mind of Veronica.<br /><br />Veronica: out of nowhere grumps through living room<br />Mike: What's wrong Vee?<br />Veronica: Me go my room, me no have tell you.<br />Me: seriously? [snicker, snicker, laughing]&nbsp; <br />Mike (to me): I blame you for this.<br />Veronica reappears from the hallway: You no "Ha Ha Ha"<br />Me: [Rolling on floor with tears in my eyes]<br /><br />None of our other children have been nearly this bossy and sassy. And we did not laugh at them nearly this much. we are creating a monster.Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-25535842674052145982012-03-11T18:04:00.000-07:002012-03-11T18:04:02.343-07:00When Suzy grows upMy friend Maggie picked up Suzy for a playdate the other day with her son. Grady and Suzy are in kindergarten together and Grady is the only boy that Suzy has even noticed in her class. She is so very different from the twins who each had declared a future husband by this time of kindergarten. But, I digress.... Grady is Suzy's friend and had invited her over to play, so Maggie picked them up from school and was headed back to her house and overheard this conversation in the back.<br />Suzy: Grady.<br />Grady: yea, Suzy.<br />Suzy: I wish I was my mom and my mom was me.<br />Grady: Why?<br />Suzy: Cause my mom does everything better.<br /><br />There will come a day when she doesn't feel this way any more, but goodness, I'm really enjoying age 5.Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-36915721794852850722011-12-03T06:19:00.000-08:002011-12-03T06:23:28.551-08:00Bee Baw DayVeronica's vocabulary is expanding. Praise the Lord! although then it occurred to me that perhaps I need to write down the word that Veronica made up to be her all purpose pronoun. BeeBawDay has been her "go to" word for anything she doesn't know how to express or doesn't want to try to say. Because there are certainly some days where you say to her "Oh, would you like this purse? can you say purse?" and her answer will be "no, BeeBawDay" while pointing at the purse. Her current phrases also include: My Happy Day (we think this refers to her birthday because Suzy talks about her birthday a lot, but Veronica has a LOT of happy days), Dee Dee&nbsp; (thank you, and those are just sweet words to hear), dja dja (her word for Suzy, although she CAN now say Suzy she just doesn't), Me too! (which is usually accompanied by a sprint as she follows someone doing something), Me Go! (this girl loves, loves, loves to go. go where? anywhere!), Meet cha buddy (she shook my hand the other day repeated this and broke out into crazy giggles. I have no idea where she learned it).&nbsp; She does try to make little jokes now, she'll say things and then say "ha ha ha" in a little monotone rhythm. I love those little moments inbetween the normal screams of no! and "ready for my canny now mama".Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-71989516954185047462011-09-29T06:33:00.000-07:002011-09-29T06:33:54.478-07:00My new Montessori schoolEvery so often I'll get a bug and start scouring the internet for "creative" learning ideas for the baby. She's my last one, so i vacillate between just barely keeping track of her in the chaos and spoiling her rotten because 'She's my baby!'. All in all it's probably the worst parenting combination to inflict upon a child that we will expect decent behavior out of later, but que sera sera.<br />Rainbow rice has become my latest 'must do this' idea. Why? you ask, because the water frog is dry and it's too cold for more water. (although i did bust Veronica trying to fill it herself the other day by carrying cup after cup of water from the bathroom through the kitchen out the back door and dumping the last tablespoon of water left in the cup into the frog) so here's a look at the super fun rainbow rice, what child wouldn't be inspired into increasing their IQ by playing with such wonderful stuff.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WsjoscmUfOE/ToRuTJzEAHI/AAAAAAAAAJA/IyXBhYvajlY/s1600/91180294_rt8l3YCI_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WsjoscmUfOE/ToRuTJzEAHI/AAAAAAAAAJA/IyXBhYvajlY/s320/91180294_rt8l3YCI_c.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>I love it, it makes me smile. But let me just tell you, do i actually <i>have </i>any rainbow rice in my house? nope, it's on the to do list, and while this to-do list is a lovely thing, my baby is growing right on up regardless of whether or not i have done the things on my to-do list.<br />The good news here is that I'm already running a Montessori school. Yup, today's first session was compliments of not cleaning up the breakfast dishes. I found Veronica sitting at her booster seat this morning very carefully pouring the leftover juice from breakfast in and out of the 3 juice cups left on the table. She would combine them all into one and then pour a little back into each cup. Then two cups has juice and one was empty and then they all had juice again. Then someone was a little thirsty and then the levels were lower in each cup. I remember doing this exact thing with dried peas at the Montessori school in parkersburg under the watchful eye of Sister Fellamena at DeSales Heights. (although i'm sure i didn't drink the dried peas)<br /><br />So here's to our little Montessori school, the Administration is a little lax but the teachers sure love their students.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JUiXy0u7B00/ToRyG3mcI2I/AAAAAAAAAJE/vUG-8iJJuZY/s1600/0817111602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JUiXy0u7B00/ToRyG3mcI2I/AAAAAAAAAJE/vUG-8iJJuZY/s320/0817111602.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span id="goog_2037020967"></span><span id="goog_2037020968"></span>Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-20081314178388289032011-09-22T09:17:00.000-07:002011-09-22T09:17:35.522-07:00My AuntieIf there was one thing I heard from my Auntie growing up, it was "slow down, don't eat so fast". I can only imagine the absolute joy in her heart up in heaven when she watches Suzy eat.<br /><br />Suzy turned to me the other day with her eyes as wide as they could be saying "Mom, look at my eyes." so I looked deep into those beautiful eyes of my little girl and she says "are they twinkling mama?"<br />"Yes, my sweet girl, they are the prettiest things i've ever seen".<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KSiAA3V-fYA/TntfgIR0PzI/AAAAAAAAAI8/AFLvzp-usPs/s1600/0830111130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KSiAA3V-fYA/TntfgIR0PzI/AAAAAAAAAI8/AFLvzp-usPs/s320/0830111130.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10818906.post-76507062562514768492011-08-20T20:19:00.000-07:002011-08-20T20:22:06.977-07:00The Rest of the StoryI want to get the rest of our visit in before I forget what we did:) Already I'm a little foggy on what we did the day after the plumbers came. I think that was the day that Lee and I went to get pedis so our feet could look like they belonged to women who don't spend their days running after children, but perhaps like feet that spend their days on beaches or other exfoliating places. It was a very nice afternoon trip, the great irony being that Lee was saying on the way there that she wasn't sure she would be comfortable with a man giving her a pedicure and I chipped in with the ever intelligent "do men even do that sort of thing?", and sure enough I ended up with a man giving me my pedicure.&nbsp; It was worth it, our toes looked lovely as could be afterwards.&nbsp; While I'm not sure the hot wax/plastic baggie thing actually did anything to our feet, it was certainly entertaining at the time.<br /><br /><br />We did decide to adjust our camping plans. Upon learning that Bend was supposed to be 42 degrees overnight, we decided that a day trip would be just lovely. We started our day with a tour of the Columbia River Gorge. It has, hands down, the nicest rest stop I've ever seen:)<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yPWllOAiNTE/TlBqKDEb0dI/AAAAAAAAAH8/ic1mpKQFnXY/s1600/DSC_0052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yPWllOAiNTE/TlBqKDEb0dI/AAAAAAAAAH8/ic1mpKQFnXY/s320/DSC_0052.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_u0k_wYkn3A/TlBp8CL1r8I/AAAAAAAAAH4/Hni1_CxshvA/s1600/DSC_0039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_u0k_wYkn3A/TlBp8CL1r8I/AAAAAAAAAH4/Hni1_CxshvA/s320/DSC_0039.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>For the record, Mike would like the caption for the second picture to read "I just peed" and now back to our regularly scheduled blogging...<br /><br />It was a beautiful drive. We saw several waterfalls before we stopped to hike to the top of the largest one, Multnomah Falls. It was gorgeous and very very tall.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bs-fjkPZOzg/TlBv1CUx2KI/AAAAAAAAAI4/pbsByK5zKyg/s1600/DSC_0055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bs-fjkPZOzg/TlBv1CUx2KI/AAAAAAAAAI4/pbsByK5zKyg/s320/DSC_0055.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br />Along the trail to the top, a little cave just big enough for a man, or a man and his brother who loves a nice close hug.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LV_rObyJF_w/TlBq9hxkZ4I/AAAAAAAAAII/INZ0AYYcTXE/s1600/DSC_0069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LV_rObyJF_w/TlBq9hxkZ4I/AAAAAAAAAII/INZ0AYYcTXE/s320/DSC_0069.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br />This was really the only time where Jeff's being a marathon runner actually came into play in our relationship. We lost them about 1/2 way up the trail (maybe a little sooner). When we finally got to the top, there were PB&amp;Js all around and some great pictures. (not that I went anywhere near the edge to get them, that would be the handsome man i married)<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yKoaG5si7nE/TlBrO5FvqTI/AAAAAAAAAIM/KE9U_6cT7l8/s1600/DSC_0088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yKoaG5si7nE/TlBrO5FvqTI/AAAAAAAAAIM/KE9U_6cT7l8/s320/DSC_0088.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>If you click on this picture, you can see the bridge waaaaaayyyyyy down there. that is the bridge from the first picture.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F2H_zq9KMyQ/TlBsj1xUJvI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/YtigwBpgS18/s1600/DSC_0092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F2H_zq9KMyQ/TlBsj1xUJvI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/YtigwBpgS18/s320/DSC_0092.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MUrnS7ylGKQ/TlBsypaYHUI/AAAAAAAAAIU/yNvhkrGGxyE/s1600/DSC_0095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MUrnS7ylGKQ/TlBsypaYHUI/AAAAAAAAAIU/yNvhkrGGxyE/s320/DSC_0095.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>From there we headed to a nearby town to get some good coffee and then off to drive the fruit loop (local orchards) to Mt. Hood. We visited the Timberline Lodge. It was beautiful and there was snow to play in, so that was a bonus for Ez and Hads.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oCEeakXPUTs/TlBtEtMYDeI/AAAAAAAAAIY/bx8qNE5RoDo/s1600/DSC_0114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oCEeakXPUTs/TlBtEtMYDeI/AAAAAAAAAIY/bx8qNE5RoDo/s320/DSC_0114.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>&nbsp;This picture is one of my favorites for doing its best to express the absolute blue of the sky that day. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0WOIGbyeCWU/TlBtP5uzy3I/AAAAAAAAAIc/uhaTt1hKk0I/s1600/DSC_0131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0WOIGbyeCWU/TlBtP5uzy3I/AAAAAAAAAIc/uhaTt1hKk0I/s320/DSC_0131.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>&nbsp;This was the view from the front of the lodge. Notice the vast amount of space before one would fall off the mountain? My kind of view. It was the details in the lodge that made it so spectacular. Sure it was neat to see how they basically used tree trunks to build the place, but the pictures of people from the 1930s gathered in the lodge socializing and seeing the "game" room with its ancient pingpong table and table shuffleboard (which apparently utilizes some sort of sawdust?) and what appeared to be a stage was too too charming. The picture of the guy with his foot wrapped burning his broken wooden skis in the great room fireplace was priceless. Then you get to the architectural details of the building itself. Like this door..<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xGIXvUDVxC4/TlBtc0fKEOI/AAAAAAAAAIg/aHVn26_-U8U/s1600/DSC_0133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xGIXvUDVxC4/TlBtc0fKEOI/AAAAAAAAAIg/aHVn26_-U8U/s320/DSC_0133.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>&nbsp;I loved this door. I wanted this door. I wished i had a house big enough for this door. alas, i think this door would probably not work on a 1950s brick ranch in Ohio, but if any of my relatives ever decide to buy a castle, I know just where to start with their decorating suggestions.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iBBR5nrQZuo/TlBttCETdCI/AAAAAAAAAIk/KwD4Pi1rT4g/s1600/DSC_0143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iBBR5nrQZuo/TlBttCETdCI/AAAAAAAAAIk/KwD4Pi1rT4g/s320/DSC_0143.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>&nbsp;Note the ever present delicious coffee in the hiker's hand on the left.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rn_F-Zayfhw/TlBt5EMOZxI/AAAAAAAAAIo/e0I6IPMKLgQ/s1600/DSC_0146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rn_F-Zayfhw/TlBt5EMOZxI/AAAAAAAAAIo/e0I6IPMKLgQ/s320/DSC_0146.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Lee and I decided that we had to be brave enough to stick a toe into the little pond that was being filled by the melting pile of snow next to it. Almost 1/2 of the pond was an underwater iceburg. It was beautiful and it was CHILLY.<br />We headed home after some more exploring on Mt. Hood and enjoyed s'mores by the fire at home.&nbsp; <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sJ303ewz4Fs/TlBuT-wNx3I/AAAAAAAAAIw/5bPK2ogCNeI/s1600/DSC_0178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sJ303ewz4Fs/TlBuT-wNx3I/AAAAAAAAAIw/5bPK2ogCNeI/s320/DSC_0178.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>Reeces Cups, Caramellos, or Hersheys were the s'mores options. Goodness were they tasty and rich! Ez was so jazzed about camping out that Jeff was #1 Dad and slept with him in a tent in the backyard while the rest of us snuggled comfortably in our own beds.<br /><br />that was a very busy day, and now i am tuckered just writing about it. more tomorrow...Ang and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591699899808467982noreply@blogger.com